Post hardcore and screamo (or ‘skramz’ if you want to get all Tumblr about it) are in a very healthy state of being right now. Though purists would argue that the genre peaked back in the late 90’s with bands like Orchid, City Of Caterpillar, Saetia and pretty much the entire Gravity Records roster, the 2010’s have seen a huge resurgence of bands picking up the torch and doing new, exciting things with the sound. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Edhochuli are one of such bands, and along with acts like Loma Prieta, United Nations and Raein, are helping usher in a new golden age of angular, intelligent punk rock.
‘Dream Warriors’, the band’s latest release and debut for Anti-Flag’s A-F Records imprint, is a 6 song explosion of furious guitar playing, heartfelt screams and pounding drums. Following a sinister rumbling intro, lead track ‘Four Nice Haircuts And Then We End It’ bursts into life like something At The Drive-In might have concocted if they’d opted to start taking steroids instead of truckloads of hallucinogens.
Guitars bounce back and forth with the dexterity of circus acrobats, shifting from nimble hammer-on riffs to scathing walls of noise and back again with nary time to take a breath in between. The band are hard to pin down, with songs rarely sticking to anything resembling a traditional structure. This isn’t a slight on the quality of the material though – Edhochuli’s progressive approach means that proceedings never become boring, and like genre peers Loma Prieta they’re able to craft moments of searing melody amidst the chaos, particularly in the skyscraping ending to second track ‘Useless Muse’.
There’s often a twisting, noisecore inspired edge to Edhochuli’s sound too that sets them aside from many of their contemporaries, bringing to mind the jagged rhythms of bands like Since By Man or Fear Before The March Of Flames (whose propensity for ridiculous song titles they also share), though it never takes enough hold on songs that the band could be described as metal. Their ethos and approach is firmly rooted in post-hardcore, however nebulous that term may be nowadays. It’s the ever present melody that sets the tone really – even in the heaviest moments on ‘Dream Warriors’ (and it does get very heavy), there’s always an epic moment waiting around the corner to remind you that you’re listening to something that’s evolved from emo.
Whether Edhochuli could cross over and have any true mainstream appeal is a tricky question, however. Despite the melody in their sound, the lack of hooks or choruses in their songs may hold them back from ever reaching the kinds of audiences bands like Pianos Become The Teeth or Touche Amore do. It’s hard to imagine that Edhochuli would be worried about such attention though – with 600+ live shows under their belts and a clearly strong connection to their basement-dwelling underground roots, the band appear to be more than happy churning out gloriously challenging, muscular punk like the 6 songs found on ‘Dream Warriors’. After a dozen or so spins of the EP, it’s difficult to imagine things any other way.
JAMES LEE